


TIME FOR CRAB

by dezimaton, rainsonata



Category: Elsword (Video Game)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-08
Updated: 2019-01-08
Packaged: 2019-10-06 11:46:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,701
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17344691
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dezimaton/pseuds/dezimaton, https://archiveofourown.org/users/rainsonata/pseuds/rainsonata
Summary: Time Tracer seeks guidance from his older self, Diabolic Esper. As with any interaction involving the catty time traveler, things never go as expected. Loosely connected toBeneath the City&A Boy and his Cube.





	TIME FOR CRAB

* * *

 

 

A black segmented tail flicks behind its owner as they tiptoe down the hall. It waves back and forth with energy. Shoulders stiff, Time looks both directions. Had there been any hint of someone’s presence in his survey, the small boy in his baggy white cat hoodie would have bolted. At this moment though, the house sits still and the scrawny tracer continues his careful footing towards the door leading to the attic.

Two gloved hands carefully pry open the slightly ajar door, dark nails on display from the fingerless openings. A soft orange tints their glossy black surface as warm beams from the lazy afternoon sun shines from the room. It’s unusual for the owner of the room to have the curtains open so wide. Time is awestruck at how well lit the room is (and what a god awful mess the place looks in proper lighting). Scraps of paper covered in unintelligible scrawl litter the floor along with ink splatters, miscellaneous mechanical components, glimmering dust, and a plethora of literal junk that makes Time wonder how anyone can get across, let alone live, in in such a place. The room’s aforementioned owner is nowhere to be found. The mahogany desk, glowing under the sunlight, is but an empty husk, bereft of its near perpetual occupant. The closet likewise bears no secrets, overflowing with half-cut plate armor material and the mismatched hash of electrical equipment that only vaguely resembles a computer.

Time breathes out a sigh, half in relief and half in disappointment. Before he turns to leave, his ears pick up a soft sound. His single good eye catches the subtle rise of the blanket pile on the bed.

Ah, Esper must be sleeping.

That’s even more reason to leave. Time retreats, closing the door as carefully as he had opened it. Before the sleeping monster is resealed in its room, two lanky arms caress Time’s neck from above and a low voice whispers, way too close to his ear. “Going so soon?”

Time chokes at the pressure applied, not too much, but enough to leave discomfort for the younger time traveler not unlike the plant demons in Feita. Millions of thoughts rush through his mind with his hands growing stiff and sweaty, twitching in Esper’s hold. How can he proceed? It never occurred to him to think this far as it was more common for Esper to search for him than the other way around.

“Esper, I…”

His tongue loses the ability to form proper words, caught up by how close Esper was. It didn’t help that the asshole was giggling too, or that the older man wasn’t hiding his amusement to Time’s internal struggle.      

Esper’s attention is all on him. He shouldn’t be hesitating after the effort he put in to plan this through. If he didn’t ask now, what other chance was there? It has been on his mind for weeks after talking to the other tracers. He had considered this situation before, but he was almost fearful on Esper’s answer.

“I want you to train me,” Time blurts. Red dots patch his vision and his face grows hot, not even the eye patch could hide that on his face.

Sliding the covers off his shoulders, Esper rolls his head and cracks his knuckles, eyes flickering to the color of night blinking at Time with a Cheshire grin. Shark like teeth poke through his pale pink lips with Esper loosening his arms to straighten his posture. The pink gem gleams over his heart in Esper’s bodysuit, a constant reminder of one’s fate when tampering with time. The sight leaves second thoughts for Time to think about.

As if reading his mind, Esper asks. “Do you really want to end up like me?”     

“I don’t…” Time says thickly, stopping himself from letting the fear seep through his tone. “But there’s still a lot I can learn from you!”

The smug grin disappears from the elder time traveler’s face. Memories flash across his abyss tinged eyes, wide with feelings indescribable. The mocking laughter of Henir’s time space admin rings in Esper’s ears, a dusty image of his own bright and eager face begging for guidance, and the sear of liquid corruption coursing through his veins from the core in his chest.

Esper utters a single “No,” and lets himself fall backwards through a portal out of the space.

Time heaves a sigh that sinks through the floorboards.

 

* * *

 

Haughty laugher that could only belong to a certain very white scientist tickles Esper’s ears. The time traveler watches with interest from the living room couch, limbs sprawled out haphazardly not unlike a cat. It’s not uncommon that Psych walks up and asks if he is comfortable in that position. What a silly question.

Masi takes a sip of his coffee, but the smile does not leave his eyes as he chatters with Lusa, who had just come in to make something to eat. The scientist jests and nods towards his younger counterpart, Arc, whose face has turned an alarming beet red. The poor AI tracer has been sitting in that very same spot, staring at the very same code since before Esper woke up from his lazy cat nap. The holographic screen displays Masi’s signature cat face in the corner of the code, so it must be some cruel “gift” from the elter data scientist. Esper can only chuckle.

Lusa, on the other hand, gives a shrug and proceeds to make his abomination of a breakfast smoothie. Strawberries, milk, tomatoes, mystery powder from Echo, last night’s sausage, and whatever else seems to look good to the muscled brawler all go into the blender. The exact concoction varies day by day depending on what’s in the refrigerator, but Esper is never unimpressed with how the entire thing goes down Lusa’s throat with hearty gulps. The only time Esper remembers him not finishing is when Masi snuck green bell peppers into the fried rice. Boy, that was a morning to remember. Chaos. Pure, unbridled Chaos.

Masi is eager to brag more about how great and unsolvable the puzzle he gave Arc is, but Lusa is soon stolen away. Psych comes bouncing in with enough energy to keep Velder running for a year, near simultaneously asking Arc how he’s doing and tugging at Lusa’s shirt. “Let’s go training!” The fluffy collared tracer beams. Esper’s eyes bounce up and down following Psych’s jumps. “You promised we’d go today!!!”

It doesn’t take much to get the elder brawler to go with him. Psych’s energy is infectious and Lusa is soon grinning wide enough to show his pointed canines. The two rocket out of the house as soon as Lusa downs the rest of his happy morning muscle smoothie, Psych with his arms out in a superman pose tucked under one of the brawler’s arms.

By the time Esper turns his attention back to the kitchen, Arc’s face has returned to a normal coloration. Masi leans over him, pointing at certain sections of the code. The AI tracer’s eyes glimmer with wonder and Esper can literally see the sparkles radiating outward.

A soft smile finds its way onto the time traveler’s face without him realizing. His counterparts get along with their younger selves so well. Both Masi and Lusa provide guidance and support to their respective tracers. It’s… almost like they’re family.

“Family…” Esper mutters underneath his breath. His thoughts migrate to his past self, Time, who he’d been pushing away. Thinking about it makes the empty feeling inside his chest ache the same way he feels when he thinks of Mother. It’s bad of him to ignore Time, but he just doesn’t know what to do. Esper himself isn’t exactly a paragon of success. What if he leads the tracer down the wrong path? What if Time eventually does become like him? Esper can’t laugh thinking of the possibility. He’s committed too many taboos.

Still, thinking of how Time must feel whenever he sees Arc or Psych happily with Masi and Lusa… Esper sees the fleeting warmth associated with family that he’d been grasping at for so long. Perhaps the basics wouldn’t hurt.

 

* * *

 

“Let’s get ice cream~”

At first, Time didn’t understand. It’s no mystery all of them like sweets. Even Lusa, who imposed a strict diet upon himself to fight every monsters and demon in Elrios won’t say no to the occasional offering to ice cream. The last time someone bought ice cream home was a hectic night of lots of screaming and crying and a few patches in the walls. More questions arise when Esper singles him out when Arc and Psych wanted to tag along. What was Esper up to?

Cold frost came into contact with his skin as he and Esper pass through the portal and into a frozen abyss. What should have been a landscape of waterlife and pristine white buildings were replaced with hills of snow occupied by crustacean monsters and remnants of temples left in ruin.

In what he thought was a joke had Time pause when Esper arrives with a box of waffle cones under his arms and a bottle of syrup. Bundled in a fluffy white jacket and a pair of snow pants and huddling for warmth, Time’s eyes grow wider at Esper’s sole purple scarf (courtesy of Masi) to battle the harsh weather. Maybe the bodysuit comes with a heater? Before Time can ask, Esper cackles.    

“I thought you wanted to go back in time, not fight demon trash.” Esper pushes Time’s jaws up to close them shut. “What flavor do you want? I have maple syrup. Lusa stole all the chocolate for something.”

Shoving Esper aside, Time pats the snow off his face. An incomprehensible noise escapes his lips as he then dusts the snow off his shoulders and shivers. He should have added a heater to Dynamo when he had the chance.  

Esper grabs a waffle cone and rolls it against a clean hill of snow until it’s shaped into a perfect snowball that would make Masi proud. He marks an indent with his knuckles to pour a pool of maple syrup drizzle. Time makes a face when Esper licks it with his long tongue, leaving a stripe of black saliva trailing down.   

“Gross…” Time vocalizes his disgust. Esper smirks and wiggles his eyebrows in response, not one bit bothered.

“Want one?”

The older time traveler offers him a snow cone identical to his, but when Time reaches for it, it vanishes into a burst of light. The sound made by Esper’s portals is a piercing noise like cracked glass, and its pink borders look like broken shards too. A black gloved hand sticks out of a portal to his right side and Esper laughs when Time leans over for it. Now it’s behind Time. He twists his body when realizing it was gone again, leaving Time frustrated and growling at Esper.

“You need to try harder,” Esper sticks out his tongue still coated in a mix of snow and maple syrup.

Time hisses, “Maybe I would do better if you _trained_ me.”

Esper gives him a toothy smile and pausing long enough for Time to force break a portal and drag his thin body through the smaller hole and be inches away from the prize, at least until it was pulled away and placed even higher from before. Time’s shoulder haunch in an awkward position, twisting his body in desperation all for a damn snow cone with Esper popping in and out of different portals like a prairie dog. How did Esper not get exhausted? For a man who barely moves his limbs to walk to places or use the door like a goddamn human being, Esper has the flexibility and agility of a rabbit when it came to trolling on his counterparts.

“I’m going to have to eat all of this by myself if you don’t catch it.” With a teasing laugh, Esper’s lips spread out into a grin. “A word of advice: you’re predictable. Think _outside_ the box.”

Time’s eyes darted back and forth from Esper to snow cone, “What are you talking about?” The time hopper sits in the snow with the snow cone. No portals, no limbs sticking out in odd assortment or positions that should be uncomfortable. Time’s eyes narrow at the seemingly convenient setup with suspicion.

Esper smirks at him. That’s all it takes to set the tracer off. Time’s eye twitches slightly and before he knows it, his body is scrambling forward in a crass attempt to snatch the darned snow cone.

The tracer is a fool for believing it would be that easy. Esper blinks two steps backwards and Time’s outstretched hand misses by a hair. The elder time traveler’s grin widens, a sliver of his sharpened teeth peeking out from his lips. “Too slow!” he chimes. Time won’t let his older counterpart get the best of him so easily! The tracer blinks forward two steps to match, hand once again on course to grasp the icy treat.

Esper blinks forward again and Time follows more quickly this time. They keep teleporting in succession two steps forward, the snow cone getting ever so much closer each time. The tracer can almost feel the cold emanating from the maple syrup snow on the palm of his hand. Time swears he just grasped it when it appears Esper is no longer in front of him. The young tracer blinks once more forward in bewilderment before scuttling to a stop.

“Pre ~ dic ~ table~” Esper sings. He even has the gall to lick his own snow cone while wiggling the fresh one intended for Time in his other hand.

When they get right back at the cat and mouse game, something is different. Esper isn’t in front of him anymore. Time whirls around to search for the spot of black in the very bright snowscape. He’s easy to spot, whenever he’s within Time’s field of view of course. Esper gives him a dainty wave from above, somewhere Time didn’t think to look until he’d spun all around. Time taps some coordinates into his gloves and portals after the darned Time traveler. As soon as he is in the air though, Esper is already in another inconvenient position diagonally below to the right. He no longer blinks just a couple steps forward, but instead any which direction he desires. Time finds himself unable to keep up like last time, since he needs to spend time each teleport to find the flighty asshole and recalibrate his portal code to jump in that direction. How infuriating!

Thinking about Esper’s incessant teasing throughout the chase, Time’s eyes widen in realization as to what his older self was trying to convey. A hum of approval from the dark suited time traveler likewise tickles at his ears.

The snow covered wonderland is still, save for his own ragged breaths clouding his sight as they mix with the icy air. The syrup laden treat he’s been trying to nab appears through the fog, Esper holding it out to him. Time searches the other’s face for any hint of deception, finding it a little hard that the time traveler would just _give_ the snow cone to him after all that trouble.

The tracer’s brows furrow, but nevertheless he reaches for the snow cone. Unlike what he expects, Esper meets him halfway and gently pushes the frozen treat into the tracer’s eager hands. The time traveler has a calm, satisfied smile that Time has never seen, so used to his usual macabre or condescending looks. It’s almost warm. The tracer holds the treasured snow cone with care and feels his face warm up a little.

The fleeing smile disappears as soon as it appears. Time hears a dreamy giggle come from behind. A whole horde of spiny silhouettes close in from the front, and both sides are equally blocked by some sturdy looking crustacean monsters. When he glances back to Esper for direction, that gentle smile has already morphed into a gross monstrous grin. The time traveler’s void tinged eyes crackle with energy. His tongue runs over a row of sharp teeth, dripping with dark bloodlust. 

Time is aghast, but in a flash, the grotesque likeness is gone and he’s dropped through a portal, away from the growling time traveler. The tiny tracer lands with a soft poof into a nearby snowdrift, hidden from the crowd of monsters they had unwittingly alerted by their portal chase earlier. From past experience, Time knows Esper fights like a feral beast. His stomach lurches in disgust, but his mind is completely fascinated. He can’t pry his eyes from the sight.

The snarls coming from Esper is animalistic, low hisses as the time traveler lashes out from behind a gang of monsters and floating orbs of energy with spikes coming out of them. The snow shakes beneath their feet with Esper launching the energy spheres like cannonballs, sending waves of water and ice raining down on Time. The young tracer scrambles for cover. Ice and snow pelt Time’s face when he doesn’t move fast enough to avoid the aftershocks and lets out an unimpressive yelp. He is so happy Arc and Psych aren’t here to hear that.  

Esper makes no acknowledgement, but vanishes into a portal when his attacks aggravate the monsters and he reappears to make a surprise entrance from above. His eyes glow in sync with the crystal in his chest to rip open a large portal above the area, a rain of dense spheres tearing down the mobs and leaving their shells dry and brittle. Crazed laughter rings through the air, Esper’s face twisted with destructive glee, razor sharp teeth on full display. It smells like charcoaled flesh left too long in the oven when Lusa is trying out a new recipe Masi gave him. The snow melts from the intense heat and the ground sizzles, the monsters’ crushed bones and emptied husks the sole sign of their existence.

Sparks rush between Esper’s palms and the time traveler cackles, purple electricity engulfing the winter terrain. The hairs on Time’s arm stand straight up. High pitched shrieks akin to the sound of icy wind make the tracer look up. Hedgehogs scurry in circles with the blue spikes on their backs curling up from the loosened ground. They were cute if not for their tendencies for blocking roads and crawling up travelers’ legs for food. Their cries are cut short in a flash of bright light when Esper kicks them aside and electrocutes them through no less than two  portals and detonates electric balls around the space.

Even though it is coarse and messy, Time admits that Esper has what the tracer lacked. Esper’s movements are fluid in dodging attacks that would have cut him down and he switches between portals in a mesmerizing dance. It is hard to look away even when Esper looks and sounds like a maniac throughout the destruction, blood splattered on his pale features and body suit.             

Looking down at the snow cone in his hand, then to the melted snow soiled and dirtied by monster guts, Time questions whether its sanitary. Time takes a small lick and savors the sweet taste lingering at the tip of his tongue. The tracer stares at how pink his tongue was and elongate it further. He isn’t going to grow up to have a long tongue like Esper, was he? Time stuck out his tongue again to lick the cone.

Time pauses when he sees a shadow crawling through the chaotic clutter of broken shells and debris, entering with a piercing screech. It is covered in blue plated armor, sharp pincers used to help it slide through the ice as it makes its way towards Time and Esper. Bubbles foam at its mouth and it hisses when Time looks at it in scrutiny, uneasy at how big it is. With those pincers, it could snap him in half like a twig and make its way back to its friends, or what’s left of them anyway.  

He nibbles the waffle cone and turns to Esper, “You missed one.”   

Esper snorts and gives him an all knowing look. Time’s throat grows stiff and chokes when Esper points a single slim finger at the tracer with black eyes shining under the gray light.

“W-wait, you want _me_ to fight it?”

Time shoves the rest of the snow cone in his mouth to free his hands.         

The sole remaining crab looks down at him with menacing eyes, no less ferocious than when it was with its group of brethren monsters. It seems not to be bothered that the entire group of fellow monsters was just decimated. Well, Esper was the one doing all the destruction, not him, so Time supposes he’ll just need to show the crab who’s boss.Time opens both palms, crackling with energy, in a show of his abilities. The crab moves undeterred and swings at him.

Too easy! Time hops back to dodge it’s ungainly swing with ease. He can’t lose to something so bulky! The tracer opens his hand and splits the space between them, a series of fissures materializing through the air and slicing right through the enemy crab.

A cackle bubbles up his throat and beams with delight on his first hit, but the smile drops as the distortion clears. The slow crustacean has braced itself with its large meaty front claws, taking no damage from Time’s attack. Before the tracer can react, a heavy claw is suspended in the air above him and slices downwards on his leg.

“Ack!” Time cries out, stumbling backwards, but it’s not far enough and the crab’s other claw follows up and slams right into his side. Through the pain Time can almost hear the sickening crunch of his ribs from the heavy impact before he’s thrown backwards.

The tracer lands in the heavy snow with a thud. There’s a ringing in his ears, an ache to his chest, and a numbness crawling up the leg that was definitely bleeding heavily even though he hasn’t looked at it. Time can hear the steady clatter of heavy limbs through the ground from the armored monster encroaching upon him. How did it end up like this? That thing is so slow and yet, it got him.

Esper’s sing songy voice vibrates in the air. “Don’t waste your time~”

“Lest time waste _you_.”

The tracer’s eyes fly open and he jumps back on his feet, adrenaline and pure survival instinct coursing through his veins. He wheezes for breath, the pain striking through his left side. It hurts, but he can’t just give up. The crab is close enough to smell it’s seawater reek and it swings again, just as before.

The elder time traveler chimes “Think outside of the box” again. And in the heat of the moment, Time rushes towards the swinging claws instead of away. Using dynamo as a platform, he leaps over the heavy creature and tumbles to its unguarded backside. The crab’s momentum is already forwards and it is too slow to change course, claws slamming into the icy ground. That’s it, Time realizes. The tracer musters what energy dynamo has left into one attack, a sphere of condensed gravity forming in the air-

Time shouts, channeling all his energy into the ball, “Gravity-”

“BUSTER!” The violet energy sphere drops out of the sky and slams a direct hit on the monster’s body, flattening the creature into the snow.

Time half collapses, half wheezes in pain from the exertion. Finally, a solid hit. To his disbelief, the crab shakes itself off and gets back on its many legs. There is a definite straggle to it’s movements but the monster isn’t finished yet.

It rushes towards him as fast as a heavily armored foe can, Time stumbling in alarm to get out of range. It swings left, Time dodges right, It swings diagonally, Time ducks below. Through a flurry of claw strikes, Time watches with unblinking eyes the ways the crab’s muscles flex before it strikes in a certain direction. When there’s an opening, he’ll sneak in a kick or an energy-filled slice using dynamo. The tracer almost can’t believe he’s doing what he’s doing.

He steals a glance at Esper’s face to see the older time traveler nodding with a smile. It’s just enough distraction to earn him another graze, his reaction just a bit too slow and the crab’s primary claw ripping a slash through his sleeve. It’s just a clip, so the wound isn’t deep, but Time still clenches his jaws from the cry of his nerves.

His own deep red blood paints the snow where the Crab has chased him, as well as on its front claws. It isn’t the only liquid staining the pristine snow though. The monster’s own dark blood drips from its cracked shell, dripping with its every movement and streaking across the snow along with his in a grotesque trail.

Esper’s words once again ring in his head. Time is exhausted from the fight, but it looks like the crab is equally worn down, so it’s not just him.

It’s time to finish this.

The crab, too, seems to share his sentiment, as it lifts both of its claws up into the air for a strong final strike. Time also, opens his energy-filled palms, gathering the last reserves of energy on Dynamo to clash.

The blood splattered claws fall from the air upon him, but instead of meeting the impact, Time opts to spin to the side. The sharp slicers just barely graze his cheek and whizz past the rest of his body by a hair, affording him the perfect opportunity.

“Gravity- BUSTER!” Time shouts with all his might.

The crackling sphere of dense energy that has been charging up all this time falls on the monster, scoring a second direct hit on it’s weakened body armor.

A definitive crunch resounds through the icy air. The only sound ringing in Time’s ears is his own ragged breathing, eyes watching the monster’s crumpled body before him, half-expecting the tenacious creature to get back up to finish his exhausted body off.

It never does though.

Dark blood pools below the monster’s body, staining the pure white snow. Time falls to his knees, eyes not once leaving the spot where the creature fell.

The tracer is shaken from his trance by a soft pat on the shoulder. Time jerks alert only to see it’s Esper, a bittersweet smile on his face. He can see the pride radiating off of the older time traveler’s face, but it’s mixed with a dash of concern and an undertone of melancholy.

“Good job, let’s go home.”

Time’s mind flutters at the compliment. It’s only when he tries to stand does his mind fully register the toll wrought upon his small frame. His body aches, bones broken and wounds caked with dried blood, an icy tingle tickling at his extremities. Time’s vision swims and the world goes dark.

 

* * *

 

“TIME, COME DOWN QUICK!”

He wakes up to seeing Psych’s face mere inches away from his, their noses almost touching if the fluffy tracer dared come any closer. Time pushes the young brawler away, uncomfortable to feeling Psych’s hot breaths breathing on his face. Psych didn’t have to yell in his ear to wake him up! His face flushed pink when Psych pouts and Time crosses his arms in embarrassment.

“Personal space,” Time grits his teeth.

Psych turns pink, “Sorry, but I wanted to tell you! Dinner’s ready!!!”

The time tracer soon learns he and Psych aren’t alone, for he is greeted by a squishy pillow when looking down to see Esper lying beside him. Esper is curled up into a ball with his head resting on the edge of the mattress where they were sleeping. His chest aches when Time sits up to examines his arms wrapped in bandages. With the adrenaline gone, the sensation not unlike  a dull knife twisted through his skin with only the medicine letting him stay conscious.  

Bandage rolls tumble on the floor as Time turns to set his feet on the floor to face Psych, who is eagerly waiting for him at the door. Glancing at Esper again, Time’s confusion settles for relief to the realization that it was Esper that took care of the injuries and Psych must be here to check on him.

“It’s almost as big as me!” Psych exclaims in excitement as they descend downstairs to be greeted to a wondrous aroma of fresh seafood and spices. “I can’t believe you and Esper brought it home!”

Huh?

“Well, Esper brought it in with his portals.” Psych corrects himself, “It didn’t fit through the door, so Lusa and I broke the legs off.”

Didn’t fit through the door? Why on earth would Esper want to bring it-

He chokes when he enters the kitchen and sees a giant platter set in the middle of the dining table that had to be divided into smaller pieces and placed on another table and the kitchen counter. Time’s eyes widen at how someone managed to cook it thoroughly for the flesh to turn bright orange with white inner meat.  

They cooked the damn crab Esper pitted against him.   

Masi is sitting at the table with his legs crossed and a wide grin like the scientist had recently discovered new codes from an ancient library. Chatting to Lusa, who looks like he had just came back from a jog or a workout, Masi looks immersed into their discussion. He wipes the sweat coming down his neck from cooking the whole afternoon, but it was a rare occasion for Masi not to mind. In fact, he looks ecstatic and brimming with pride.    

“It’s not so bad when you have the recipe,” Masi laughs. “Helps that it’s already dead, so seasoning isn’t hard.”  

Lusa teases, “Why don’t you cook through Hamel and take care of the demon invasion for us?”

Time snorts and turns to get a better look at dinner when someone with long white hair flashes through and greets him with held hands and demanding questions. Collar buttoned up, Arc’s hair band was absent today with the AI tracer beaming when he spots Time.  

“Esper told me what happened!” Arc’s face lights up. “Did you really fight it on your own?”

Time looks at Arc in bewilderment and wonders how much detail did Esper gave to the young scientist.

“What kind of training did Esper give you?” Psych jumps in, “Tell us everything!”  

Heat reaches Time’s ears as he tries to piece words together at the bombardment of questions, overwhelmed by the sudden attention gained from the other tracers. His mind is spinning, but he doesn’t hate it. It’s almost as good as Esper praising and acknowledging him. Arc and Psych looking at him like he took down a 50 foot tall Lizardman leaves Time blushing with happiness. When he looks at them, he couldn’t help but smile as he recounts the fight as detailed as he can.   

 

* * *

 

_~~Dear Esper,~~ _

_~~I am grateful for you taking me in~~ _

_~~To my older self, I want to express my gratitude for~~ _

_~~Hi Esper,~~ _

_~~If you think throwing overleveled monsters at me will help me find Mom, Then~~ _

_Dear Esper,_

_Are all the training sessions going to be like this?_

 

Time slams his head against his desk and yelps when it hits his forehead too hard. Rubbing the red spot, he rests his head and raises his brows at the crossed out lines on the sheet of paper blotted in purple ink. Writing a thank you note like a good student, he wanted to make it look effortful by writing it by hand rather than have Dynamo do all the work for him. He isn’t Arc!

What takes several swipes for Esper to wreck takes hours for Time to do the same. How much training would it take for Time to reach that level? It hurts if he twists his elbow too much to reach for his pens on his desk, but it was evidence that his lessons with Esper were real. Time ponders what made Esper change his mind at the last minute. He supposes it can all be chalked up to being unpredictability being one of his older counterpart’s characteristics.

Seeing Arc and Psych be helped by their older selves made him feel left out when they unintentionally talked about their progress in codes and training. It made him feel guilty when they tried to change subject or drop their voices into a whisper if he was in the same room. After being dragged by Esper to Hamel, Time can’t even find the courage to say thank you in person and resorting to letters. What was he, a child?

“Why do you have to be hard to talk to, Esper?” Time bemoans. Did everything had to be a cryptic message or a snide comment?

“Yes, Time. It does.”

Time jolts in his seat at the voice coming from the ceiling and looks up for the source. Esper’s head is sticking out from a portal from above with a barely contained chuckle, shark teeth and all. The time traveler brings his legs to the other side and steps over to Time’s room, kneeling on the younger’s desk with bemusement in his eyes.

“E-Esper!” Time stuttered at the other’s abrupt appearance. “Wait, that’s mine!”

Ever so casually, Esper leans his head over and grabs the paper with Time’s disoriented writing, reading the letter upside down with his head turned to the side. His eyes shine with interest in the illegible lettering and giggled.

“Why so formal?” Esper waves the paper, “You don’t need to waste your time on this.”

Waste? He thought since they were the same person, Esper could understand where he was coming from and offer the help needed because of a mutual understanding, but his older self treats his concerns like they’re a joke. The tracer looks at Esper with pink cheeks and hangs his head.

“Are you doing this because you’re bored?” Time accuses, “I thought you wanted to help me be stronger.”

“Nah, being stronger is Lusa’s thing.” Esper grins, “Did you see what he drank this morning? Psych tried to drink it too.”

“You know what I mean!” Time throws his hands down in defeat.

“What do you want? A pat on the back and a hug? I’m teaching you because you said you will be different,” Esper stops smiling. “I don’t need a formal letter to tell me that. Why don’t you just talk to me directly?”

Sore limbs and tangled bandages makes it hard for Time to reform this pitiful attempt to appear mature to the older time traveler. Emptied flasks of cobo brand Complete Recovery™ Potions line up on the dresser besides his bed, a bowl of apples and crackers Psych gave him this morning for a speedy recovery. Magic or not, it would take time for his broken bones to heal, but it was impossible to go back to sleep after waking up to the pain in his sides.   

Esper wasn’t as warm and touchy feely with positive reinforcement as Lusa or straightforward in a no-nonsense sort of way as Masi, but being in a way he is acknowledging Time’s words… The distance he created between himself and Time made it hard to approach the elder time traveler, but it seems Esper still wants to talk to him. This shows that Esper is listening and taking in consideration what Time said.

“You really want to help me?” Time asks weakly.

“Oh no, you’ll be doing the hard work.” With a dark toothy grin, Esper asks. “So, how about some fried chicken later?”

Looking back at his bandaged arm, Time stupidly waves them around and ignores his body protesting to the pain. His ears roar with the pounding of blood rushing up his face and turning his face red. He’s still recovering! Time looks at Esper for any indication of the older time traveler joking, but there’s no humor in his features.  

Time sweats profusely. 

 

* * *

 

A lazy yawn floats from Time, his arms stretching outward and over his bent knees with the tiny tracer sitting perched on a pillar. His tail curls up in a straight line before settling down again until he rolls into a portal to escape the flying stone and rubble coming for him. Black creeps into his infected eye and they glow in radiance as Time dodges boulders spiked at his general direction.

That was a close call, Time sweats after he narrowly avoids Psych’s Quake Buster. He throws himself into a backwards flip and into a portal when his vision turns pink from a Panzer Buster and Fission Shot from Arc.  

“Aw man!” Psych groans and Arc laughs at his missed attack. The fluffy tracer clutches his gloved hand over his chest and slams the ground in frustration. The flooring of the arena grows loose from the impact, plate tectonics sliding over one another in a pseudo earthquake forcing Time to jump into the air for Dynamo to support his weight.

Arc follows suit in his peripheral vision and drops the smug expression when Time uses the opportunity to crack open a portal and ambush from behind. Losing balance, Arc tips over and starts throwing curse words that would put Lusa to shame as he comes crashing down. Time snickers quietly to himself.      

The AI tracer glares at Psych to shut up when the fluffy tracer laughs. It takes a hard pressed effort of pushing himself up for Arc to stand up with tired groans. He spins in a semicircle (What in Elrios is Masi teaching Arc?) and hits the young brawler with Drone Activator. A black disc shaped like a puck latches onto Psych and Arc beams at the small victory.

“I GOT YOU!” Arc yells, pumping his fist in the air.

“…now what? Was something supposed to happen?” Psych stares at the drone idling on his shirt and tries to dismantle it with Dynamo. The device flickers light, but nothing happens.

“It’s perfection!” Arc huffed. “Of course you wouldn’t understand!”    

“But it’s not doing anything.”

“Shut up!” Arc’s face turns pink. He fumbles through his hair band and looks away, a poor decision, really because he and Psych shriek when light flickers opposite to them coming from a set of pylons.

Tangled in a webbing of lines and electricity is Time, sharp rows of teeth crinkling from his lips in a shit eating grin and cackles. Those pylons took time to arrange them, but now his counterparts had nowhere to run! Pylons gridded around Arc and Psych, leaving little room for movement where even Dynamo won’t be enough to escape. He hovers over them and enveloped in static before shoving them into the ground with Gravity Buster.

“It was foolish to let your guard down during a fight to bicker like children,” Time gloats. “Didn’t Masi and Lusa teach you better?”

Arc is lying on the floor with bruises on his pale face and panting, his pristine outfit smeared with dirt and burnt marks. Ha! That’s what he gets for wearing white all the time! Time claps his hands in glee on how much Arc was going to complain about it later today.

Psych, on the other hand, is on his feet and Dynamo rising with their owner, all six of them spread out like an animal puffing out its fur. His canine teeth spread into a grin identical to the one Time sported earlier with sparks flying out. Too late to teleport away, Time’s hands bear into fists as soon as Psych activates his developed Nasod Armor.    

Crap.    

Time lands back first on the floor from Psych’s flurry of plasma-enhanced punches and chokes on his saliva, back coming into contact with the ground. The static coming from the young brawler left him groaning and he crawls over to Arc to see the AI tracer passed out. He mimics the other and lies face down as Psych cheers over his victory. Maybe he should take Esper up for that “fried chicken” run.

**Author's Note:**

> Co-written with rainsonata !!! I had a lot of fun discussing hcs and exchanging snarky comments during writing. :3c Thank for making this beautiful fic with me <3


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